Ghosts
by lovepb13
Summary: Set after 3x03. JJ doesn’t want to go home.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Ghosts (1/?)  
Fandom: Criminal Minds  
Pairing: Emily/JJ  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds_. This is just for entertainment purposes.  
Summary: **Set after 3x03.** JJ doesn't want to go home.  
A/N: **As always please, please comment, it makes my day **

She looked so helpless, all bundled up in too big clothes, a reminder of her blood splattered shirt and face. After the judge went down everyone rushed to his side, not wanting to let the bastard get away with the whole thing so easily, none of them had gone to her side, tried to bring her back to reality and make her forget the feeling of the warm blood on her cheek. That was the thing that most people forgot about blood; its warmth. Writers have written about the sight of blood on your hands, the unforgettable vision burned into your brain that refuses to shift despite the intervention of logic, but they have never once talked about how warm it is, how alive it feels. When the cleansing water of a shower engulfs the blood and carries it down the plughole it's not the sight of the now vacant blood that is the reminder, it's the cold on your skin. The feeling of absence in the exact place the blood once was. That was there even when you couldn't see it, that was the true ghost of a person.

We had driven back to the hotel in silence, me with my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road; her with her hands wringing in her lap and her eyes distant and unfocused. I helped her to her room, not needing an excuse to keep up our stoic facade when she was like this, then left. I didn't see her again until the plane.

Coffee.

I could do coffee, coffee couldn't make the ghost of the blood go away but JJ liked coffee, loved it even. I could do coffee.

I placed it in front of her and patted her knee gently in a gesture I hoped was comforting before sitting down and hiding in the pages of my book. That was another thing I would good at, hiding from her.

"Thanks." She said after a minute, the coffee warming her throat as it slipped down.

I smiled at her.

Not another word was spoken the whole way back to Quantico.

"Emily wait!" She called after me as I dragged my go-bag to the car, my car. My beautiful stylish way-too-expensive-for-work Porsche Carrera, my baby.

I turned around slowly, my muscles too tired to spin around as I usually would at the sound of her voice. "Yeah?"

She looked embarrassed and I could tell from the look in her eye that it had taken her a long time to muster the courage to call out to me. "My hands are shaking do you think you could... Do you think that maybe..."

I smiled in relief. "I'll drive you home."

She smiled and nodded thankfully, adjusting her bag on her shoulder before catching me up. "I really appreciate it."

I snorted a laugh. "Come on JJ, you know that you don't have to be like this with me. I would gladly drive you home whenever you want."

She smiled again at that. "You should start charging fare, between Hotch and now me..."

I laughed genuinely, she was smiling.

By the time we had pulled out of the Quantico compound she had already persuaded me to take her home with me.

"Will's parents are at our house, I don't think I could face them right now." She had explained, pleaded.

I had nodded and flicked the indicator to flash the other way. How could I say no to her?

When we pulled into my underground parking she sighed, as if she only now believed that I would actually provide her with sanctuary from her nearly-in-laws.

"Thanks again." She said sincerely as we lugged the bags into my apartment, both dropping them by the door and walking into the kitchen.

"It's fine, honestly, I'm happy to help." I said, opening the fridge in the vain hope that I would have something suitable to eat. I'm a workaholic, my fridge contains absolutely nothing healthy or even remotely food related. Why would I cook when my building has room service?

I closed the fridge again and looked at her apologetically. "I was going to offer you something to eat but I seem to be distinctly lacking in the food department at the moment." I said, offering a her a sheepish smile.

"No problem, I don't think I could eat anything anyway." JJ said honestly.

I frowned slightly, in the car I thought that maybe she wasn't taking this as hard as I thought she would but now it looked like maybe she was, maybe her almost cheerfulness in the car was something else or maybe even just good acting. Some profiler I was if I couldn't tell the difference.

"Do you want something to drink? I think I could manage that." I continued my attempt to lighten the situation, she seemed to appreciate the effort even if I was falling short.

"Water?" She asked.

Hearing the hidden words I opened the fridge again and lifted out my water filter. I had gotten it when I found out she wouldn't drink straight from a tap and thought that bottled water was bad for the environment, it was my first chance to put it to the use it was intended for.

"I didn't know you knew about that." She said, sounding embarrassed. "Bad childhood experience with the stuff that came out of the tap at my uncle's farm." She said by way of explanation.

"You mentioned it once, profilers have good memories for the little details. We often miss the big obvious ones but that's what we have you for." I smiled at her weakly, hoping that she would accept my explanation and not think I was stalking her. I wasn't stalking her, I had followed her home once and that was only because I was convinced that her car was going to cut out and she had totally known I was there.

"It's good to know I have some uses then." She said distantly and I made a mental note to not mention work again, or Will, maybe this was about Will? That was a self-indulgent thought I let enter my head for only a few seconds, abandoning it and deciding it was much safer territory than work right now.

"How's Henry doing?" I asked, passing her the glass of water. "I haven't seen him in a few weeks."

Okay, so maybe that was a bit of stretch, at most it had been two weeks since I had seen him but it was better conversation starter than 'Hey, how's that idiot of a fiancé of yours?'.

"He's doing great." She said, a smile almost re-gracing her lips. "You should come over when the LaMontagne's leave, he really likes you."

She was talking about Henry, we couldn't even pretend that Will liked me, he had made it pretty damn clear that he didn't and I was just fine with that. Henry did like me, _really_ like me, so much in fact that Garcia got jealous and JJ had to encourage Henry to go to his Godmother instead of me, his Aunt Emily. Morgan had laughed for three hours straight when JJ had first referred to me as that, asking me is it was nice in Kansas and if Dorothy was really as much of a pain in the ass she seemed. He didn't care that that was Aunt Em he had a joke and he was going to run with it. He soon shut up when Henry puked all over him.

"That'd be nice." I said. "As long as..."

"As long as Will's not there, I know." She cut me off. "I still don't know why you two just can't get along."

_Because he's not good enough for you_, I thought.

She looked at me with wide eyes and I realised that I'd said it out loud.

"God, JJ I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud." I said quickly, putting on my best apologetic face.

"You should hear what he says about you." JJ said, sighing in a way that signalled she was clearly exasperated by the two of us.

My curiosity got the better of me. "What does he say?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Ghosts (2/?)  
Fandom: Criminal Minds  
Pairing: Emily/JJ  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds_. This is just for entertainment purposes.  
Summary: **Set after 5x03.** JJ doesn't want to go home.  
A/N: **As always please, please comment, it makes my day **

"What does he say?" I asked, knowing that I was probably opening a can of worms I couldn't close again by asking this question but not caring anyway.

JJ winced slightly. "You're not going to like it." She said after a moment.

"I'd gathered that." I said, laughing humourlessly.

JJ sighed, giving in. "He says you're a spoilt brat; that you're so used to getting what you want that it would never even cross your mind that things wouldn't go your way."

"There's more isn't there?" I asked.

She nodded, an apologetic look in her eye. "He says that you're no better than the people we catch, that you hunt people slowly. He says that you're not an American and that you have ulterior motives working for the government and that you can't be trusted."

"Well, not at least I don't feel bad for thinking he's a southern inbred with a pea for a brain and an accent that could curdle milk, that and he looks like he's been shrunk in a tumble dryer." I smiled, I didn't care what Will thought. In fact it was better than UI had expected it to be, al least what JJ had told me was. Maybe she was holding some back?

Seeing the humour in my words JJ smiled back. "You don't seem surprised."

"What surprises me is that you're with him."

Okay, now I had definitely gone too far. My muscles tensed, primed for her reaction.

JJ seemed genuinely at a loss for words. "I- I don't know." She said finally.

Suddenly feeling guilty I moved forward to rub a comforting hand up and down her upper arm. "I'm sorry JJ, I really shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right." She said, her voice cracking.

_Shit._

I wasn't actually aware that I had said anything that could be considered right or wrong, I had just asked a question hadn't I?

"At first it was convenient." She began. "It was separate form my life here so it didn't affect it, I could pretend that noting was different when I was at work. But then I found out I was pregnant and it was as if my two worlds just collided and… and before I knew it Henry was here and Will had asked me to marry him. I'm not even really sure if I ever said yes he just kind of… assumed."

_Figures,_ I thought, _stupid redneck with his stupid misogynistic ideas of ownership._

"I'm sorry JJ." I said, knowing it was pitifully little to say after she had just admitted what she had but not being able to think of anything else.

"I don't even love him Emily." She said, her bright blue eyes piercing deep into mine.

Before I could put my foot in it again she was in my arms, sobbing raggedly against my shoulders whilst she gripped my arms tightly. After a moment she shifted to burry her face in my neck, mumbling apologies for breaking down in front of me and inconceivably gripping me tighter.

We stayed there for a while.

She woke up the next morning in my bed, alone. I had fallen asleep on the couch a couple of hours after I had persuaded her to take a nap in my room, promising to drive her home when she woke up. But she didn't wake up and here I was, waking up on Sunday, my one day off, with a shooting pain in my neck and a cramp in my lower back I knew I wouldn't be able to shift for days.

"Hey." She said lightly by way of greeting, standing at the bottom of my stairs with her hair ruffled from sleep and her eyes darkened by the confusion of waking up somewhere other than her own bed.

"Hey." I said softly. "Did you sleep okay?"

She nodded. "Better than I have in a _long _time."

Not wanting to bring it up but knowing that it was probably important and may win my some I'm-an-adult-not-a-child brownie points I suggested that she phone Will to tell him where she was in case he was worrying.

She shook her head. "He still thinks we're in the case."

I nodded, understanding. She didn't want to go home yet.

"Do you want some breakfast?" I asked, breakfast I could manage. Cereal was the food of the gods, appropriate for any time of day. I had a cupboard full of it.

"You have breakfast?" She asked sceptically, raising her eyebrow at me as she walked into what passed for a living room in my open plan apartment.

"I have cereal." I countered. "That's breakfast."

"I'm impressed." She laughed lightly, coming to sit nest to me on the couch. "But not so hungry, I still don't think…"

"No breakfast then." I nodded, smiling encouragingly.

"No breakfast." She agreed.

Intending to give her a little more space I shifted on the couch, gasping at the shooting pain that rocketed up my back in the process. I bent forwards instinctively, my left hand going to my lower back in a futile attempt to stop the pain. Apparently I was going to pay for sleeping on the couch.

"Are you okay?" She asked, concern etched in her angelic features.

I bit my tongue, forcing back the 'Does it look like I'm alright?' that a lifetime of working in a man's world had taught me to spew on any sign weakness, sometimes defence mechanisms needed to be overridden.

"My… back." I managed to choke out. Perfect, I sounded like an injured child.

JJ's hands quickly found their way to my back, smoothing up and down it as if searching for something. She sucked in an empathetic breath. "You're muscles are really tight." She observed, sounding like she knew what she was doing. I found out that she knew exactly what she was doing from what she did next.

Her hands began to press against my back in rhythmic patterns, turning the pain into something far _far _nicer. I moaned involuntarily,closing my eyes and arching forwards as my muscles began to slowly loosen and the pain began to ease.

"God, JJ. Where did you learn to do that?" I murmured.

"I take it you like it then?" She said. I could see her reflection in my mirror as she locked eyes with me, smirking.

"God, yes." I moaned, closing my eyes again so she couldn't see my eyes darkening.

And just like that it stopped.

I opened my eyes again as she got up from the couch and took a step back. "What's wrong?" I asked, hoping that she hadn't seen the darkness in my eyes before I had closed them.

"I can't do it properly like that, you're going to have to lie down." She said calmly.

"Okay." I nodded, starting to move slowly so that I could lie down on the couch.

"Not here." She said quickly. "Lying on this thing has already done enough damage, don't you think?"

I nodded.

"I'm just going to get a glass of water, why don't you go upstairs and lie on your bed? I'll be up in a minute." She said.

"You really don't have to." I assured her.

She smiled at me impishly. "I want to."

Oh my God. Me, JJ, bed. Oh my God.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Ghosts (3/?)  
**Fandom:** Criminal Minds  
**Pairing:** Emily/JJ  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Criminal Minds_. This is just for entertainment purposes.  
**Summary: ****Set after 5x03.**JJ doesn't want to go home.  
**A/N: ****As always please, please comment, it makes my day ****Sorry for the big gap and the short update but I have been so busy with Uni that I literally haven't had a minute to spare.**

I had given up long ago on suppressing the low moans that slipped from my mouth with each press of the heel of her palm up my back, settling for closing my eyes and hoping she would take it as a compliment. I was hopeful as she hadn't flinched yet.

"You're so tense." She murmured, her voice carrying the concentration it often did when she was reading aloud from a file. "You should get someone to work this out for you on a regular basis. I can't believe you manage to function like this."

I bit my tongue before I could say 'fancy the job?' and instead asked if she could recommend anyone.

"Be nice to me and we could make this a regular thing, it'll drive Will insane." She said, amused but obviously serious.

"Aren't I always nice?" I asked, smiling at the thought of 'driving will insane'.

"To me." She said neutrally. "You can be a little grumpy with the others."

"I am _not _grumpy." I said, shooting for indignant but falling short as she pressed extra hard on my lower back. Did I mention she was sitting atop my thighs?

A low laugh sounded from behind me and I suddenly wished I could see her face, she lit up when she laughed. Okay, so maybe everyone did but when you have a crush everything they do seems extra pretty.

"I'm not!" I repeated.

"Maybe after this you won't be." She whispered, all of a sudden breathing warm on my ear words that dripped with promise.

I gasped inaudibly and she sat back, giggling.

"Well at least we know you feel better this morning." I said dryly.

"Quit complaining you're getting a free massage with a season pass for as many more as you want, Will would kill for that." She said, shifting her weight further so she was sitting up straight now, her full weight on my legs.

"I'm sure he would." I said before I could stop myself.

"Yes well, I'd rather do you any day." She said.

At that point I had to concentrate all of my energy on breathing, breathing is important and her statement, however innocuous, had not been conducive to breathing.

"I'm certainly not complaining." I said, my voice a good deal lower than usual.

She seemed to be caught off guard by that and I instantly regretted it. "Sorry JJ, I was just..."

"Did you mean it?" she asked, her weigh all of a sudden seeming a lot heavier.

I swallowed. "That I like you massages? Of course, who wouldn't?"

"That's not what I'm asking and you know it Em." She said seriously.

"Does it matter?" I asked, not knowing which answer would be worse.

"Yes." She said simply.

"Then yes, I meant it." I said, taking a deep breath and bracing myself for the cold that her absence would bring to my body.

But she didn't run. Her weight shifted again and I felt her stomach press against me as she leaned forward and her hands depressed the bed either side of my shoulders. "I'm complicated." She said in warning. "And I don't do affairs."

"I understand." I said in defeat.

"I shouldn't be saying this." She said, almost to herself. "But it's all or nothing Emily, you decide."

And then she was gone, gone from my body, gone from my bed, gone from my apartment.

I turned my head to bury it in the covers of my bed. Why do I always get myself into these messes? It had only been a ride home, how had it come to this? I was not looking forward to work the next day.

As luck would have it I didn't even get a day. My phone rang before I could even scrape together a sandwich for lunch and by the time the clock struck one I was walking out of the elevator and strolling towards the office. That was until I was intercepted by a blonde torpedo. I was ushered in silence to her electronic kingdom where I was instructed to sit on the chair usually reserved for JJ.

"I have a tracker on her cell phone." Garcia said, sting on her throne. "Spill."

"She didn't want to go home." I said, wary over what the blonde could do in seconds to my back account or citizenship.

"Henry is my Godson, I don't want his family to be torn apart because his mom was cheating." Garcia said seriously.

"She would never cheat." I said protectively.

"For you she would."

My mouth fell open slightly in shock.

"She told me that she had a crush on you from your very first case together. She would sit on my couch and cry into her glass of wine about how you didn't notice her and about how much she loved you nevertheless. She would cheat for you in a heartbeat. She would give it all up in a heartbeat. She's a woman in love, she would do anything." Garcia said.

"But..." I started. "Will, she... And I... I always..." I took a deep breath. "I've loved her from the first moment I saw her."

Garcia sighed her previously hash expression softening. "You're one hell of a compartmentaliser."

"Daughter of a politician."

"She's not, she couldn't ever be that." Garcia said.

"She's stronger than you think." I defended.

"And you're weaker than you think." She countered.

"Touché." I murmured.

"I can't believe you slept with her." She said, exhaling loudly.

"I slept on the couch." I said flatly.

"Then how come she called me crying this morning about something happening on your bed and not knowing what you were going to do or what she could do or if she had even gotten it right in the first place?"

This was going to be hard to explain. "She was giving me a massage."

Garcia raised an eyebrow.

"My night on the couch." I said by way of explanation.

"And how exactly did that lead to her crying down her phone to me?"

It was going to be a long conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Ghosts (4/?)  
Fandom: Criminal Minds  
Pairing: Emily/JJ  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds_. This is just for entertainment purposes.  
Summary: **Set after 5x03.** JJ doesn't want to go home.  
A/N: **As always please, please comment, it makes my day **

The next morning I woke to a text from a text from Garcia inviting me to lunch. I hit the reply button and typed my negative response, I wasn't ready for another 'If you hurt JJ I will empty your bank account faster that you can say: it wasn't my fault' speech. Before I could bring myself to hit send I changed my mind, deleting the message and instead typing 'see you later' and sending it. No one could ever say no to our resident Tech Goddess.

When the clock on my computer finally reached one o'clock I set it to hibernate and dropped off my finished reports on JJ's empty desk. She must have already left for her own lunch. I made my way through the corridors, knocking on Garcia's open door with a grumble from my stomach.

"HI!" Garcia said brightly, twisting around on her chair to fact me, an extravagantly decorated pen in her grip. "Do you think you could go ahead and meet me there? I've just got a couple of things to finish up."

I nodded. "Sure."

"Great!" She said. "I'll see you in about fifteen?"

I nodded again. "Sounds good."

I arrived at the bistro a couple of minutes later, parking my car up on the street outside and stepping out into the unseasonably sunny day. A silver convertible caught my eye from across the street and it occurred to me somewhere in the recesses of my brain that it looked an awful lot like JJ's car but my mind was so focused on the amazing smell drifting out of the bistro that the thought never even reached my consciousness.

"Hey Emily." The boy behind the counter greeted. "You're table's in the back."

"Thanks Joe." I smiled, this was the most popular lunch spot in the area and not booking lead to not eating, I was glad that Garcia had thought ahead but then again she always did.

"No problem, I'll bring the menus over as soon as I get through this lot." Joe said, indicating the long line of take-out customers in front of him. "It shouldn't be more than ten minutes, Sally's on leave so we're a bit short staffed."

"Whenever you're ready, I'm in no rush today." I said, leaving the front of the building and making my way through the tables to the darkened back room where a lack of windows and forever burning candles gave it a soothing ambiance that was the perfect way to relax in the middle of the day.

"Table 24!" Joe shouted after me and I raised my hand in acknowledgement.

I scanned the table numbers as I passed them, noticing the that 24 must be the very back table, best in the house.

"Emily!" JJ's shocked voice pulling my gaze up the table I had been headed for. She was sat at the two person table bathed in the flickering yellow light of the candle, her sky blue eyes wide with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to be having lunch with Garcia, she had a couple of things to finish so she told me to go ahead without her and she would meet me here." I explained, in shock myself.

JJ let out a small, humourless laugh. "I think we've been set up. She told me the exact same thing."

I sighed in frustration. "Sorry JJ I should have guessed. I'll leave you to eat your lunch in peace, sorry again."

"No stay." JJ said, looking more annoyed than I would have expected. I hoped the annoyance was directed at Garcia. "Where else are you going to get lunch at this time, everywhere will be full of FBI cadets."

"Thanks." I said as I sat down. "I'm really sorry about this."

"If you keep saying sorry it's going to do terrible things for my ego." JJ said, attempting and failing to add humour to the situation. "What I mean is we're friends, right? Why can't friends have a nice lunch together?"

I smiled. "You're right, I'm so-"

She gave me an amused, stern look.

"Here you go ladies." Joe said, bringing our usual pitcher of orange juice to the table and handing each of us a menu. "And this is from Garcia." He handed JJ a pastel yellow envelope. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes to get your orders."

"I'll have the camembert and cranberry ciabatta." I said quickly. I had spotted it on the specials board and knew that if I didn't order now they would be out.

"Sounds good." JJ said. "I'll have the same."

Joe nodded and left.

"So, do you think we should open the envelope?" JJ asked, placing the envelop on the table between them.

"I don't think not opening it will do us any good." I said. "Do you want to open it or should I?"

"You do it." She said.

Taking the envelope I turned it over in my hands until the seal faced upwards. I ran my nail under the flap and lifted it up cautiously, pulling the folded sheet of recycled paper from the envelope and opened it up.

"Lunch is on me." I read aloud. "Talk it through."

"At least it's simple and to the point." JJ said.

"We should have ordered something more expensive." I said, passing the paper to JJ to look at.

"Or we could just do as she says and talk." JJ suggested, hiding her eyes behind the paper.

"We could."I agreed. "If you want."

JJ nodded. "We can't leave things the way we did, it's not good for the team."

I agreed.

"I'm sorry I was so blunt." JJ apologised. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. You shouldn't have to make that decision."

"But I have made my decision." I said.

"If it's bad I don't want to know, just let's carry on as we were before."

"It's not bad Jay." I said reaching out to put my hand on top of hers. "I'm not going to force you to leave Will but I need you to know that I'm here, for you and for Henry."

JJ pulled her hand away. "It won't be easy. Will's going to put up a fight, perhaps for custody and with our jobs he just might win."

"No judge would take the child of an FBI agent with a perfect record away." I soothed.

"Then there's my family and how they'll react." JJ said. "And the BAU, we can't risk splitting up the team, we do too much good for that."

"Maybe it won't be easy," I said, "but like I said, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

JJ swallowed. "I'll talk to Will tonight, tell him what I feel. I can't commit to anything until I know what the consequences for Henry are going to be."

"I understand." I nodded.

"It's not a no Emily, it's an 'I'll try my goddamned hardest to be with you'." JJ assured me.

I smiled shyly at the conviction in her voice.

JJ got up from her seat and crouched before me, bushing my hair back behind my ear. "I'll try my goddamned hardest." She repeated. "We need to have a little faith, a lot of faith."

"Faith in what?" I asked, shaking slightly from the touch of her palm still resting on my cheek.

"In this." She murmured, leaning forward and brushing her lips against mine. She moved her other hand up to my face and rubbed her thumbs in circles over my cheekbones as she deepened the kiss, not waiting for me to give her permission she slipped her tongue into me mouth, finding my own. I moaned at the loss of contact when she pulled away. "I've gotta go." She whispered.

"What about lunch?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"Will's at home, I'm going to tell him" She explained, brushing her hands back to cradle the back of my head.

"Is that all I get, if he makes a fuss and threatens to sue for custody, just one kiss?" I asked, feeling my eyes sting with held back tears.

She leant forward and kissed me again. "I'll be forever thankful for this moment, even if it's the last."

"I love you JJ." I whispered, the pain of losing her breaking my heart.

"And I will always love you, no matter what. Always remember that, you promise?"

"I promise." I closed my eyes as kissed my forehead, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. When I opened my eyes a moment later she was gone.

"And I will always love you." I whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Ghosts (5/?)  
Fandom: Criminal Minds  
Pairing: Emily/JJ  
Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds_. This is just for entertainment purposes.  
Summary: **Set after 5x03.** JJ doesn't want to go home.  
A/N: **As always please, please comment, it makes my day **

I stared at my phone, perched on the edge of my couch with my hands clasped between my knees I stared at my phone sitting silent on my coffee table. I hated silence.

JJ didn't come back to work, for hours I waited, stayed late in the hope that she would walk through those doors and stroll across the floor to her office but she didn't. She never even called. Hotch knew she had to go home on personal reasons so she must have phoned him but why not me? Why not Garcia?

Personal reasons, did that mean Will or Me? Was there even a difference right now? We were both creating the same problem, me more so but I refused to let him get away with it. The breakdown of his and JJ's relationship was just as much his fault as it was mine, maybe.

My phone buzzed and I wasted no time in grabbing it roughly and flipping it open.

"Emily Prentiss." I answered automatically.

"Em," it was JJ's voice, quiet and unsure, "can you come and get me?"

"Where are you?" I asked.

"My house. Please come and get me." She pleaded.

She didn't sound like she was crying, that was a good thing, but she did sound defeated, almost guilty.

"I'm coming." I assured her before hanging up and snatching my keys from where they had been lying on the table next to my phone, ready for action.

I practically ran to my car, scenarios in which Will was the villain running through my head before being dismissed, as much as I hated him he would never hurt JJ or Henry. The elevator took way too long to come but I was several floors up and still in my work heels. My car flashed at me in the dark when I remote unlocked it, flying out of the elevator and clicking my shoes loudly on the asphalt of the underground car park as I ran to my car. It took more self control that I thought I had not to just floor it and get to JJ in as quicker time as possible, damning the speed limit but I'm a federal agent and getting caught speeding off duty would be a mark on my record that not even my mother could wipe out. There had been too many accidents in the past and I had a reputation for recklessness.

It took almost three-quarters of an hour to get to JJ's house, having been stopped by more red lights than I had ever believed possible but when I did get there she was waiting for me on the front steps, illuminated in the lights of my car with the shadows of her picket fence making an eerie pattern on her white shirt.

"What happened?" I asked, jumping from my car and jogging up the drive to her side.

"He understood." She said, not looking up from Henry gurgling in her arms. "I told him and he said he understood. He let me go without a fight."

I crouched down in front of her, putting my arm on her shoulder to get her attention. "That's good JJ. It's the best we could have hoped for."

"That's the problem." JJ said. "I was expecting him to shout at the very least, say I was trying to take Henry away from him but he just stood there calmly and made me promise he could still see Henry. It's like he had been expecting it."

"Maybe he had." I said, brushing her hair back behind her ear do I could see her face.

Henry gurgled something unintelligible, and started swatting at my hair where it swung above him, laughing he played. I grasped his hand in mine and tugged at it playfully, making him laugh in delight. My eyes never left JJ.

"He had an overnight bag already packed but I said I'd go. I couldn't stay here after that." She whispered, a bit of the desperation I heard over the phone finding its way back into her voice.

It was then I noticed the bags beside her. "Come on, you're coming back to my place."

"He's still inside." She said, finally looking at me. "Henry's travel cot... he needs it."

"It's okay, I'll get it." I assured her, squeezing her shoulder before getting up from my crouch. "Where is it?"

"The spare room." She said.

I nodded, stepping past her and into the house through the open front door.

Will was sitting on the stairs with his head in his hands.

"LaMontagne." I greeted softly, there was no need to make him feel worse than he already did.

"Prentiss." He stood and held out his hand for me to shake. "Congratulations."

I grasped his hand, letting him squeeze harder even though I knew I could match him. "I'm sorry." I said.

"She'll be happy with you." He said, squeezing my hand one last time before dropping it. "Henry too."

"He'll always be your son." I said, remembering the pain in my father's eyes when my mother left him, I had been nine.

"He'll be yours as well now, he needs two parents at home. I'm glad it'll be you."

Feeling awkward I shifted my feet. "He needs his travel cot."

"I can take apart his proper cot in a couple of minutes, I assume you'll be able to put it back together again?" He asked, showing me respect I didn't think I deserved.

I nodded.

"I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later JJ and Henry were in my car along with the last panel of the cot and the rest of the toys and clothes JJ hadn't managed to pack. Henry's room had been stripped bare and JJ's closet too.

"Look after my boy." Will said, shaking my hand again before patting his gun on his hip and looking at my matching weapon. I nodded in understanding. It was because I was a cop to, in his head that's what made it better. He knew I could protect them just as well if not better than he could. "And JJ too."

I nodded again. "I'm make sure JJ calls to arrange for you to see Henry soon."

"You call." He said. "I don't think she could stand it."

I smiled slightly, he knew JJ just as well as I did, loved her just as much as I did. It created a kind of mutual respect that hadn't been there before.

"The best woman won." He said, patting my arm before turning and making his way back to the house.

"I hope you're right." I whispered, knowing he was too far away to hear.


End file.
